Ditching plow



April 2,2, 1930. s. o. MARTIN ET AL 1,755,885

DITCHING PLOW v Fled'May 19, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

@tbox m15 April 22, 1930. s. o. MARTIN ET AL 1,755,885

- I DITGXVHNG PLOW Filed May 19, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lAplril 22, 1930. s. MARTIN Er AL.

DIICHING PLOW Filed May 19, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l5 April 22, 1930. S. O. MARTIN ET AL 1,755,885

` DITCHING PLOW Filed May 19 V1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 abbojamq l 'Patented Apr. 22, 1930 sdoTTo. MARTIN LAND ELMER ri'. rninnnnnnsi, ,or Denver., COLORADO, Assienoiis;

iafY DTREGT'A'ND MESNE Assisiiivimms, or verna-HALF To A. M'.NAss1i", OF DENVER,v

COLORADO, AND ONEHALF To SAL-D sooTT o. MARTIN DITCHI'NG PLOW d A j Arric/a'tion md May l19,

'a It isthe object of this-invention to produce aditching plow that shall be Vso constructed I that it canibe readily adjusted to vary the inclinationof the ditch and which shall also be provided with means forholdi'ng it inf'level position regardless ofthe inclination of the land ori-which it is used..rvr j f A This invention, brieflyV described, consists i of a; beam ha-'ving attached thereto two mold boards' whicl'extend outwardly at an angle 'trom' each otherv and vhave their front ends connected so as to form a point. A shoe is pivotaily connected' with the frontendv of this assembly and adjustable about a'pivot for Ythe,

Y in detail anfdfor this purpose reference will' and shows the-means for locking'the'adjustbe had to the accompanyingv drawings' inL which the preferred'embodim'ent thereofhas' been illustratedandin' which; Y

Figurel isv top plan view of thel ditching plow; I j y Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the' same vFig. 3 isan end view of the Yplow showing the same to' a somewhat 'larger' scale than in' Figures land 2 and showing it in position in the ground; Y Y Y Fig. 4 is a sectiontalen on line 4-4, 1' Fig. 5 is aV `sectiontaken on line 5;-5, Fig". 4,

ing wheels inl position;

,Fig. 6 is a section taken on line;6;6, Fig. 4 5 f Fig. 7 is avsection 3, and Y Y Y Fig. 8 is a sectiontalen on line'8-8, Fig;y 1'. In the drawings numeral-1 designates a "taken on lin-e743?, Fig.

.Vbeam which'is preferablymade from steel and is shaped somewhatlike anordinar'yplow beam. Therearend ofthisbeam'is"curved relationv .with it.

1928` serial Nb'. 278,945.

at 2K- andhas a downwardly and forwardly extending portion 3 whose lower endv 4 is inclined forwardly at a somewhat greaterl anglethan the part indicated by numeral 3. End 4yi's provided with anA opening for the reception of the bolt 5 which serves' as a pivot for thep'oint or toe '6; Secured tothe rear end ofgth'e toe is ajshoe 7 whose rear end is provided with'aln upwardly extending part 8 that yis-pe'rfora'te'dffor the reception of a pivot 9. The pivot 9 Vserves to connect thev part 8*" withfthe heel 10. Two adjnsting bracesll have" their' Vlower ends secured' to thel heel 10k and are connected at their, upper ends and provided with a rack 1"'2.VV Secured to" the part 3l ofthe beam is a' support 13 which" is held in place by means of rivets' 114. The y front end of the' ,blades or mold boards 1.5,' are fastened to this support by'I means yofr bolts 16. Support 13 is provided with a sharp.r

rib 1'? -whichprojects forwardly in Vfront of the frontends of thenio'ld bardsfl'in the mannerslioiifnjv inv Figure 2;V l `tra'nsverse brace InemberlS etends between the blades a short distance back of theirfpoint ofcon naaien atil @biseanemia iai-ace i155# its.' @has connected with the blades'so that itis riggfidly attached tothem. Brace meinbersQ-have their rear` endsI attached to'fthfeftra'nsversef tol theI plate 20. The frontends ofbrac'esl are also connected with thebeain 1 means' of rivets 21' in the manner shown .in Fi; ''ur'e' 4. Itis now apparent that by means the' v triangular l structure eoiiprisingiv brace; mem`L` (I berslS and 1'9t0 which'fthe bladesfl arelcon-v brace l8`a`ndhave their fronts ends attached ne'ctedf,v that the latter are rigidly'secured toj r the beam so afs tobe'held in a predetermined blades and" attached" to the latter at their' Extending" between tlie' V 2a f This bfaceifflember is'rsured to the,

manner'shown inV Figure' v3. I The fendsv of brace/bar' 18` to Vwhich attention has beendirected above, are secured to the blade braces 24n'fhich areshowi in Figure 3; Al"sir'nila'rv `tr''a'nsvirse. bracei '25 entends between the two blades and has'k itsend-"secured to the braces 24m" the mannerfalso shown Figure 3;`

Secured to the transverse brace members 18 and 22 are supporting brackets or jack straps v 26. These straps have two sides which are bent at an angle to each other and have their vertices extending upwardly in the manner shownin Figure 2. Secured to the vertices of these brackets are bearings 27 in which is supported a shaft 28. Rotat-ably mounted on this shaft are three hand wheels 29, each of 'which has an elongated hub portion 30 which VVwith two spaced fingers that embrace oneV of the spokes in the manner shown in Figures Y 4 and 5. Secured to the heel 10 are tworangle irons 11 that extend upwardly in the manner shown most clearly in Figure 4 and have their upper ends secured to a rack member 12. This rack engagesthe pinion 31 carried by the center hand wheel. A roller 36 is Vpivotally attached to a bracket 37 that is supported on one of the jack straps 26. This roller 36 is provided with spaced flanges that embrace the rack 12 and holds it in adjusted position With respect to the pinion 31. By rotating the hand wheel 29, itis evident that the rack 12 can :be moved upwardly orV downwardly and held in adjusted position by means of the locking member 33. When rack member 12 is moved downwardly, the shoe 7 will be rotated Vabout the axis of'bolt 5 from the full line towards the dotted line position shown guides consist of angle irons whose upperV ends are secured to the transverse brace 18 and whose'lower ends are attached to the in- 'clinedf angles 39. The guides 38 occupy the i' position with'respect to the angle iron 11 shown in Figure 6 from which figure it will be seen that angles 11 can move vertically but cannot move sidewise and by this means the shoe 7 Vwill be held against sidewise movement.l

For the purpose of holding the ditching plow-in any desired transverse position with respect tothe ground, wheels 40 have been provided.V These wheels are secured to shafts 41 which, in turn, are mounted for Vrotation '.in'bearings 42. These shafts are provided with collars 43 that keep them from moving i' x longitudinally in the bearings. The bearings are fastened to an angle iron 44 by means of bolts 45 so as .to producea rigid connection A draw bar 46 has its by means of a clamping bracket 47 shown most clearly in Figure 6. The front end of this draw bar is provided with an opening 48 for the reception of a hook 49 which is formed in the end of the bolt 50. This bolt is secured to the beam 1 in the manner shown in Figure 4. It will be observed from Figure 6 that the draw bar extends through the space between the angle irons 11 which therefore serve as guides that prevent the wheel assembly from moving transversely while permitting it to move vertically. For the purpose of adjusting the vertical position of the wheels, angle irons 51 have been pivotally connected to the wheel assembly by means of pins 52. The upper ends of these angles are provided with racks 53 that are held in operative relation Vwith pinions 31 by means of rollers 36 in the manner shown in Fig. 7. By rotating either one of the hand wheels29 that are connected with the racks 53, the end of the wheel assembly `to which this rack is connected can be raised and lowered.. VAs the hand wheels are movable independent of each other, it is evident that each end of the wheel assembly can be independently adjusted. l/Vhen the wheel assembly has been adjusted to the position desired, the hand wheels can be locked by means of the locking member 33, which has already been described. `Wheels 40 are located between the blades 15 near their rear ends and engage the inclined surface of the ditch in the manner shown in Figure 3. The rims of wheels 40 have been madeconcave and provided with asharp inner edge 54 which cuts Vinto the soft soil'and serves to prevent sidewise movement. A seat 55 is secured tothe outer end of a spring 56 which in turn rests on the transverse brace 22 and is secured to the latter by means of a pin 57. The front end of the Vspring the bent bar 59 ext-ends in the manner shown in Figure 3. The ends of bar 59 are connected with the brace members 39. /Vhen the operator sits in the seat, the tendency of is provided with an eyelety 58 through which the spring 56 to rotate about the supporting member 22 is resisted by the barl 59 inthe manner quite apparent.

For the purpose of attaching a team of horses to the ditching plow or for connecting it with a tractor, a. tongue60 has been provided. The rear end of this tongue is pro-V vided with two members 61 thatform a tongue adjusting head.` Members 61 are secured to the tongue by means of rivets or bolts 62 and are provided atftheir rear ends with three spaced openings 63. A bolt 64 eX- tends through one of the openings 63 and through anropening 1n the beam 1 and serves as a means tor attaching the rear end of the tongue to the beam. The front end of beam 1 embracethe tongue 60 and have their 4Lower ends connected by means of a bolt 66. A rack 67 is pivotally attachedto'the upper surface of the tongue by means of a bolt 68 and this rack is provided with a rib on itsconvex surface which cooperates Ywith a groove in a ing the handle 78, and rotatingthe rod 77,

can rotate the worm gear 7 l and thereby adjust the position of the'beam with respect te the tongue. `Secured to the tongue directly in front of the adjusting rack 67 are two hitch bars 7 9, one of which is located on each side of the tongue. The upper ends of these y bars are pivoted at 80 to the upper end of a bracket 81 in the manner shown in Figure 8. These bars are provided with several spaced holes 82 by means of which adjustments can be made. Thelower ends of the hitch bars are connected to the vbolt 64 by means of rods 83 whose front ends are secured to the hitch bars by means of bolts 8&1.` The whithetrees or the traction member by means of which the plow is connected to a tractor is also secured to the lower ends ofhitch bar 79V and has been indicated by numeral 85. By 'adjusting the verticalposition of the w hitch bars the point of the draft attachment can be varied vertically. By means of the adjustment just described and by means of the rack and pin mechanism which changes the angle between the beam l and the tongue {30,it is possible to effect several impertant i adjustments which enable the operator to get' the best and most satisfactory operation. The point of attachment of the tongue to the beams which has previously been described also assists in obtaining the desired adjustnient. Y

Byjmeans of the mechanism described above the angular vrelationship of the shoe and point dean be altered which makes it possible to determine the extent ofthe downward pull exerted rby the plow when in operation. Theadjustment ofy the wheels t() makes it possible to maintain the plow in a horizontal or level position when vcutting a ditch transversely along ran inclined field as the wheels can be independently adjusted to conform to the inclination. Y

ltisa-pparent that by adjusting the angle between the plane of the cutting edges of the Vmold boards 15 and the horizon that the inclination of the sides of theditchf can be f varied.- The more lnearly horizontal the cut- Y ting edges are, the'sha'llower the ditches will be and conversely the `greater the angle be- "tween the cutting edges and the horizontal,

the steeper thesides ofthe ditch Will be. The

bottom 'of the point 6 can be made of considerable width so as to make thev bottomof the ditch fiat in the manner shownin 3.

By means of a ditching plow of the type above described, al ditching operation can be very satisfactorily performed for the reas-on that this ditching plow is provided with so many different adjustments that almost anyl desired resultcan be quickly obtained. 1 V

-The'pointfdis readily detachable and can therefore be replacedY ifvbroken. t is also possible to substitute a point of a specifically different shape. Thepoint show-n` in Fig. has a Yfiat bottom andnconsequentl-y makes.y ditch'with la bettolrnl 1f aditch having a v V-shaped bottom is desired. a correspondingly shaped point is used. I Y c Y.

Havingdescribed the 'invention what we claim as new is: ,i

1, A ditching plow comprising a beam having its rear end downwardly and forwardly inclined, ya pair of cutter bladesat-j tached at their front ends to thes'downwardly 3 and forwardly extending part of the beam, a transverse brace member connecting the blades at a point tothe rear ofthe beam,

diagonalrbraces extending *fromy points near the ends of the transverse brace memberl to-k i the beam, a shaftfhaving a wheel secu-red to each end thereof, usaid wheelsand shaft being located between the blades near their rear ends, a draw. bar vconnecting the shaft to the beam, a pair of 'guides cooperating withthef i f draw bar andmeans for independently adjusting each end of the shaftseparately.

2. A ditching, plow comprising Va beam having its rear` end downwardly and forwardly inclined, a pair of cutter blades attached. at theirvfront ends to the'down-wardf, lyY and forwardly extendingvpart of the beam.,

a transverse .brace member connecting the blades at a point vto the rear of the beam, diagonal braces extending from points near the ends of the transverse brace member to the beam, 'a shaft! having a wheel securedto.- each end thereof, said wheels and shaft being located between the blades-near their rear end s,1 a draw bar connecting the shaft to the beam, a vertical guidebar-Ylocated on each side ofV the draw Vbar and means for adjusting each end of theshaft independently withA respect to the plane ofthe cutting :edgesofthe blades;

3. Arditehing plow comprising a beam hav. ing itsrear end curvedV downwardly and fer#` wardly, 'apairof cutter blades having their frontv ends connected with the beam, said blades diverging from each other in a rearward direction, a pluralityV of ytransverse braces extending between the cutting blades, brackets secured to two of said transverse braces, a shaft supportedl on said brackets, a c hand wheel supported on the shaft, a peintF pivotally connectedv with the beamaind cutter blade assembly, a shea extending, rearwardly fromv the point, a vertical brace bar secured to the rear end of the shoe, a rack secured to the upper end of the brace bar, a pinion connected with the hand wheel, said pinion cooperating with the rack wherebythe shoe and point may be adjusted when the hand wheel is rotated and means for latching the hand wheel in adjusted position.

4. A ditching plowrcomprising a beam havingits rear end curved downwardly and forwardly, a pair of cutter blades having their front ends connected with the beam, said blades diverging-from each other in a rearward direction, a plurality of transverse braces extending between the cutter blades, brackets secured to two ofV said transverse braces, al shaft supported on said brackets, two handwheels supported by the shaft, a 'shaft assembly locatedbetween the blades near their rear ends, a draw bar secured at one Aend totheshaft assembly and at the other end with the beam and blade assembly, a vertical guide associated with the draw bar,

- a supporting bar secured to each end of the altered at will and retained shaft assembly, the upper ends of said bars Y having racks attached to them and pinions carried by the hand wheels orcooperating` with the racks wliereby'the ends ofthe shaft assembly may be adjusted vertically when the hand wheels are rotated.`

V5. A ditching plow comprising a beam having rigidly secured to one end thereof, a

pair of rearwardly divergentcutter blades, a

tongue having one end connected with the IJeam near its rear end, means for making connection between the tongue and the front end of the beam, said last named means comprisin a rack plvotally attached to the tongue, a

plateattached to each side of the beam, said plates enclosing the tongue, and means for rotating thepinion and for holding it in any given position, whereby the angularY relation between the vtongueV and the beam can be in altered position.

6. A ditching plow having a beam, a pair of cutter blades rigidly connected with the beam, said blades being rearwardly divergent, the cutting edges of the blades lying in a plane, a point connected'with the blades `near their front ends, said point being movableV about a pivot whose axis lies parallell i with the plane of the cutting edges, a shoe extending rearwardly from the point, a rack attached at its lower end to the rear end of the shoe, a pinion connected with the'bl'ades, Y

said pinion being operatively associated with `the rack whereby when the pinion is rotated' Vthe shoe and pointwill be moved about theirV pivot, and latching means -for holding the '1 pinion againstV accidental rotation.

V tures. Y

' In testimony sooT-T o. MARTIN. I, ELMERH. -BRiDENBAUGHg i whereof we aiix oursigna- 

